


Making a Move

by mariescarisi (darahsooley)



Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: Angry Rollins, Carisi takes an ADA Job, Carisi tells the squad, Cute, Dominick "Sonny" Carisi Jr. & Amanda Rollins Friendship, Dominick "Sonny" Carisi Jr. Has a Crush, Fluff and Humor, Lawyer Dominick "Sonny" Carisi Jr., Scarred Carisi, Sweet Dominick "Sonny" Carisi Jr.
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-16
Updated: 2021-03-15
Packaged: 2021-03-24 11:54:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,416
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30071841
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/darahsooley/pseuds/mariescarisi
Summary: “Amanda, I’m…” He sighed, trailing off. ….In love with you? She thought.“I’m leaving SVU.”Amanda knows something is bothering Sonny. Her partner is hiding a secret…She thinks he’s finally going to make a move….it just turns out to be one she didn’t expect.
Relationships: Dominick "Sonny" Carisi Jr./Amanda Rollins
Comments: 5
Kudos: 25





	Making a Move

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! Hope you like this one!

Part 1 (of 2)

“Carisi, you got a minute? I need to talk to you.” Olivia said, poking her head out of the office. It was late in the day and Carisi’s eyes were glued to the clock. His shift was almost over and he wanted to get things done and organized before he ended up racking up more overtime.

“Uh, Sure, Lieu. Let me just finish this—” He started, looking up at his boss from his desk. She waved her hand.

“That’s alright, you can save that...for later. Just email it to me later. This is kind of important.” Liv said, beckoning him to enter her office. She couldn’t just talk to him any time, and since they were the only two left in the office, it was the best time. Carisi sighed, folding a manilla folder over and shutting his laptop before getting up. He walked through the door, shutting it behind him.

“What’s going on?” Carisi asked nervously. He stood at the front of her desk. He was a nervous-pacer. If he were getting fired, surely she wouldn’t have let him work all day? He couldn't be getting fired…he couldn’t go back to doing traffic stops on Staten Island. Talk about a major downgrade. He supposed he could always...

“Were you gonna tell me?” Benson said, folding her arms over her chest as she sat in her chair. She interrupted in the self-panic train as she stared at him. Her expression wasn’t angry, he didn’t think. It was hard to tell with Liv sometimes.

“Tell you what?” He asked.

“Tell me what? Seriously? Jack McCoy just called me. Wondered why we were being so hesitant to let you go. He said, and I quote, ‘it’s not as though you won’t see him.’” Benson said, eyes widening in fascination. The corners of her mouth turned upward into a smile.

“Oh, that.”

“Carisi! Yes, that! What’s going on? What’s happening here?” She said, waving her hands in front of her. Of course, she knew, but why hadn’t he taken the job?

“I guess after Stone left, he left some kind words. I’m assuming they contacted Barba too. McCoy called me earlier this week. They’re trying to fill it as soon as possible, like within the next few weeks. ” Carisi sighed as he explained. It had been an incredible opportunity, but he couldn’t get past that much. What if something went wrong? What if being a lawyer wasn’t meant to be?

“The ADA position?” Benson said, fishing again for answers.

“Yeah, they’re trying to hire someone soon. I just got the offer a few days ago… McCoy’s not very patient, is he?” He admitted, frowning as he looked down to meet his boss’s eyes.

There it was.

“Carisi! That’s wonderful! That’s fantastic news! And no, no he is not.” Benson said, gently bringing her hands together.

“I told him I’d think about it…” Carisi said, taking a seat.

“Why would you do that? I know you’ve been wanting to use your law degree. I mean La Rosa in Brooklyn. What happened to that? And with Holmes in Queens?” Carisi shot her a puzzled look at the fact that she knew everything he’d been up to.

“Don’t look at me like that, I have eyes and ears all over the city.” Benson quipped.

“Alright, alright. Yes, I’ve been looking. I’ve had a few interviews and offers….nothin’ just ever seemed like the right fit. I…made a commitment to SVU…to serve and to protect. And ever since Mike…” Sonny trailed off, raising his hand up to emphasize his point.

“I get it, Carisi, I do. But you’ve been a cop for a long time, and a detective for most of that. And I appreciate your commitment to SVU but Carisi...if you’re waiting for a right move…this…” Benson trailed off, shaking her head.

This was it. This was his perfect move.

Carisi frowned again.

“This is an incredible opportunity, Carisi. And I’m not saying that because you’d still be working with SVU and the Sex Crimes Bureau. The circumstances are unique, but it seems to line up with the new Bureau Chief starting last week. They want to bring in a fresh ADA…. Fresh eyes, fresh department is what McCoy was going on about.” Olivia said.

“I know, he laid that on pretty thick the other day.” Carisi said.

“Is there a reason you haven’t accepted it? It seems perfect.” Benson said again. She couldn’t understand what was holding him back. Carisi and Dodds had been good friends, but Dodds would want Carisi to move on. So would the rest of their squad.

“No, there’s no reason…I just got a lot on my mind.” He looked back out the window to where the rest of the squad normally sat. He understood why she waited this late to talk to him. If the rest of the squad was here, they’d be giving out curious looks like they were candy.

“You’re worried about them? About how they’ll feel?” Benson guessed.

“I guess…it’s just been all three of us under you for a while.” Carisi started, looking down again.

“I understand the loyalty, Carisi. And I understand not wanting to leave the squad, but please don’t let that be the deciding factor. One PP will send us reinforcements, eventually. Fin and Rollins will understand…”

“Will they?”

“Carisi, Fin will be—” Benson sighed and laughed as she realized, “This isn’t about Fin.”

How could she have missed it?

Carisi was quiet, staring at the blinds behind his Captain.

“Amanda will understand.”

“Will she? She doesn’t take people leaving lightly, she—”

“Carisi, she will be alright. Happy for you, even. There are a lot worse ways to see your partner leave. And if you’re as close as you say you are, she’ll know this is coming. Maybe some space won’t be bad…” Benson opened her mouth to say more but clamped her mouth shut.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” He asked sharply.

“Sometimes...You know what? No. You know what I mean. You might think I don’t know, but I do. She will be fine. You worked hard for this! And it’s not like she won’t see you. But don’t let things like that stop you from deciding for yourself. Trust me on that, Carisi.”

Carisi’s watch beeped, signaling the end of his shift.

“Why don’t you take some time and think about this? You have a ton of paid time off. Take the rest of the week. I won’t tell them what’s going on…but I know you’ll have to go down and see McCoy and Hadid and Chief Dodds if….”

“Yeah, yeah, I got it. Guess I need to head over to the DA’s office then, huh?”

“That’s on you. Not my decision...Now get! And when I say time off, I mean don’t answer the phone. This is a big decision. But for now, you’ve been on for over 24 hours and if you want to explain to Fin and Amanda why you’re out…”

Carisi chuckled and stood up, shooting Benson a smile before heading out.

* * *

“When are we going to get a new Barba? The DA’s office seems to be in a revolving door of idiots ever since Stone hightailed it back to Chicago.” Amanda complained, looking over the mass stack of paperwork on her desk. Ever since Stone had left earlier in the summer, SVU had been relying on temporary district attorneys. None of them seemed to fit. Even Peter Stone was a better fit than some tight-necked attorneys that walked through their doors.

“Come on, Amanda, you know ADAs are a dime a dozen around here. A good one will come eventually, that’s just how it goes.” Fin said from his desk. He scrolled mindlessly through his phone.

She scowled at the latest temp assigned to their unit, walking towards the elevator. The tall woman adjusted her glasses as she raced out of there. Rollins sighed, eyes stopping dead on her missing partner’s desk.

“Speaking of pain in the ass lawyers, where the hell is Carisi?” Amanda said, looking down at the massive pile of paperwork she had in front of her, the source of her annoyance. Normally, she’d be able to split the load with her partner, but he’d been MIA for the past few days. She double checked the board and could have sworn it said he was on duty.

There was always something missing in the atmosphere when her talkative partner was out of the office. It comforted her on quiet weekdays to look over and see him slouched uncomfortably in his chair or sitting on the front of his desk, stretching his long legs.

Maybe he stopped for some Zeppole along the way to work? It wouldn’t be unlike him to bring goodies into the precinct in the morning. But she’d been telling herself that herself for days.

Amanda felt like something was missing. Throughout the dead morning, he never showed. Her phone stayed quiet. If he was late or not working, he would always send her a text message.

“Oh, yeah, he’s… out for the week. Something came up.” Fin said, not spending more than a moment on it.

“He’s out? For the entire week? Carisi never takes time off! He—” Amanda started.

“Amanda, you’re nearly as bad as Carisi when he found out you were pregnant. Kept asking me a million questions. If you want to know about Carisi, ask Carisi. But he’s fine. It’s not his health or anything before you get worried.” Liv said, rolling her eyes as she stepped out of her office. She stopped to cross-check words scribbled on a dry erase board to a paper in her hand.

“He’s coming back, right?” Amanda asked. If it wasn’t his health, what was it? His family? Someone else?

“Of course, he’s coming back…” Benson said, looking up and tearing the glasses off her face. At least to collect his stuff.

“And what do you mean he asked questions about—”

“Amanda, relax. Get the paperwork done, there’s some training that needs to be done too before heading over to the courthouse this afternoon. Fin, they need you and I down at 1PP.”  
“Right now?” Fin asked, looking at the Lieutenant.  
“Yes, right now!” Liv said.  
“Sorry, he’s just not answering texts. It’s weird.” Amanda said, staring down at her phone. She set it off to the side, trying to figure out how to tackle the paperwork on her own. She was going to need to call her sitter if they expected her to get everything done and be at the courthouse later.

“He’s fine, Amanda. Fin, let’s go.” Benson barked.

* * *

“Fin needed to be here too? Great, now Amanda really is going to kill me.” Carisi said to himself, sipping a coffee as he leaned against the office wall. He sighed and looked at the time on his watch.

“Detective! Hope we didn’t keep you waiting too long.” Chief Dodds said, opening the door to his office. He’d been in a meeting when Carisi arrived there early.

“Nope. Not at all. I don’t have to be down to the courthouse for another few hours.” He offered the Chief a smile.

“Good. We’re just waiting on Captain Benson and Sargant—Ah! There they are!” Dodds said, smiling brightly at the approaching pair. Fin looked confused to see the party waiting for them, squinting his eyes at Carisi.

“Oh hell, what did you do?” Fin asked, frowning.

“He doesn’t know?” Carisi asked, raising an eyebrow at Benson.

“Nope. I told you to tell them.” Liv smirked.

“Alright! We can start.” Dodds said, ushering them into his office. He sat at his desk, shuffling a mess of papers as they all stood before him. Nobody took a seat.

“Well, I don’t know whether to say my condolences or congratulations,” Dodds said, looking down at papers. He laughed lightly to himself.

“Both works, I guess,” Carisi said, laughing along nervously and reaching up to run a hand through his pomade-filled hair.

“This is a first for me, I’ll tell ya. But it’s wonderful, truly. Over a decade of service for the NYPD isn’t anything to roll your eyes out. Good Police! Mike had a lot to say about you. You'll always be a brother in blue despite the fancy suit.” Dodds continued signing off on a paper.

“Wait, you put your papers in?” Fin said, confused at Chief Dodd’s words, “you’re resigning?”

“Well, Sargant Tutuola, it’s more of a transfer on our end. Since the NYPD and DA’s office work so closely together, we found a bit of a loophole in the paperwork.”

“Oh no,” Fin said, looking at his sometimes partner. He knew what was coming. 

“Yep. Mr. Carisi is heading over to the DA’s office working as a new ADA under Bureau Chief Hadid. He’ll be working with Sex Crimes, just on the opposite end.” Dodds said proudly.

“How the hell did that happen? Congratulations, man!” Fin said, astounded. He composed his face before flashing a smile at Carisi.

“Stone had a few kind words, I guess,” Carisi said, shrugging.

“Oh, come on, Carisi.” Benson smiled, moving towards Dodd’s desk, “where do I sign?”

Dodds pointed to many lines on the thick paper.

“Loopholes mean more paperwork, but it’ll save us time in the long run. You’ll have to sign too, Sargent.” Dodds said, watching Benson sign.

“So that’s why I’m here.” Fin said, “Well since I gotta sign, you can do the honors of telling Amanda.” He shot Carisi a look, shaking his head.

“You haven’t spilled the beans yet?” Carisi asked, looking over at Liv.

“Nope, Counsellor, I have kept my lips sealed shut,” Benson said, getting up from where she was leaning, passing the pen to Fin.

“And what time was your meeting with McCoy this afternoon? We’re going to the courthouse too.”

“Oh, the Marlin trial closes up this afternoon. I forgot about that. I’ll be there about 1.”

“Better hide. Rollins is out for blood. Said it's weird you’re not answering her texts.” Fin said, handing the pen to Carisi.

“I’ve been kinda busy. I—I’ll tell her, eventually.” He sighed, taking the pen, leaning over to sign the form. He scribbled his signature in all the places necessary before leaning back up.

“I miss that. The joyful moments from the days of partners.” Dodds said, rolling his eyes as he stacked the papers up in an even stack.


End file.
